Mental Marathon Training

Mental Marathon Training is a series I started…then took a long hiatus on, but I now have my topics set and I’m ready to get rolling again!

Most marathon plans are laid out to give you a gradual progression of speed work, tempo runs and long runs that will train your body to handle the rigors of 26.2 miles. A few of the plans will also spend a little time talking about mantra’s or visualization, but I don’t think any of them really tell you how finishing a marathon is nearly 50% mental and 50% physical.

I know a lot of athletes who could run 26.2 miles, but cannot mentally make the leap. So they either never try, start a plan then quit, or commit and then find themselves in a world of anguish on race day. In all of my reading and personal experiences over the last 9 years, I have whittled it down to 10 essential Mental Marathon Training areas:

If for some reason one of the blow podcasts will not load you can access them here

Those episodes which have been previously recorded are linked in the list above and additional episodes are coming soon. I hope with the many races coming up that even one of these will help give you a little more pep in your step on race day. I know that a recent post by Emily about digging deep has stuck with me for weeks now and truly made a difference in my own efforts.

Happy Friday! Hope you have taken advantage of the many giveaways I have going right now…there are more coming because I’m just in the mood to give back and say thank you for being such loyal readers! See links in the right hand bar and yesterday’s post on all natural hair care.—————————————————–Gratitude JournalApril 8I am grateful for vacation daysI am grateful for new running shoesI am grateful for non-stinky running clothesI am grateful for beach runsI am grateful for pleasantly sore muscles

I totally believe that running a marathon is half mental. But if you can get over that part the rest is totally doable. And this comes from a girl who declared she was going to run a marathon with barely having a 10k under my belt. And love the new look!

The marathon is so mental. I'm more freaked out by the fact that I don't FEEL ready than by the actual number of miles run which is a little on the low side this time around. I'm hoping for a confidence boosting long run this weekend to improve my mental state. It's funny that I'm not even thinking about the miles!

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Website written, managed and maintained by Amanda Brooks. I am a certified personal trainer, but any advice should be taken as general information and not a personalized plan. All opinions, tips and reviews are based upon my personal life experience and the experiences of those around me. View my full review policy.